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Leaping forward towards a sustainable future

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provided the central roadmap for this year's BNP Paribas Sustainable Future Forum in Paris.

The second BNP Paribas Sustainable Future Forum (SFF) was held in
Paris in October and gathered over 70 speakers, 151 organisations, and over 400
participants from 24 countries. The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) provided the central roadmap for this global gathering, organised
shortly after the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released
its latest report calling for urgent action on climate change.

The event highlighted the bank's commitment and leadership in
addressing climate change and sustainability issues, helping establish a dialogue
between corporates, investors, experts, and start-ups. Discussing
solution-oriented financing strategies that are necessary to build a common stronger
future was a key talking point throughout the day.

Participants were welcomed by BNP Paribas Chairman Jean Lemierre,
who paid specific attention to the diversity of organisations and people
required to address the sustainability challenges and opportunities. He also emphasised
the importance of industrialising sustainability processes to scale-up BNP
Paribas' contribution towards positive banking.

This message was reinforced by Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP
Paribas, who highlighted the import role the bank has to play in channelling
finance towards sustainability, including adapting its business model. He also
stressed the need to join forces with clients and stakeholders to collectively
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The central theme of scaling up the implementation of the UN
Sustainable Development Goals was discussed throughout the plenary sessions,
and participants interacted with speakers through live polling. Key takeaways included:

Reaching the inflexion point - The size of the global green economy represents 6% of the market
capitalization of global listed companies

The future is now-
The next 10 years will be crucial in determining climate change impacts on
economies and societies

Dual digital- Digitalisation
and sustainability will go hand-in-hand

Steering standards-
Large companies can set the standard in relation to implementing the UN SDGs.

Pioneering polar explorers Robert and Barney Swan – the first person
to walk to both the North and South Poles and Managing Director of the 2041
Foundation respectively – underlined the urgency of climate risk, and
highlighted the opportunities and mindset required to accelerate the energy transition.

The BNP Paribas event coincided with the 4th annual Bloomberg
Sustainable Business Summit held in New York. In that context, the findings of
the Bloomberg's Sustainable Business & Finance Survey were presented at the
Paris SFF, and highlighted the sustainable finance actions and outlook of 600
corporates and investors in the US and Europe. This explored themes including
investor perceptions, data challenges and value creation opportunities of
integrating sustainability.

BNP Paribas hosted the Business
For Good Forum throughout the day in its plenary space too. This included
inviting leading entrepreneurs and clean-technology start-ups to present their innovations,
and allowed innovators to market their solutions to top institutional and
corporate executives, building their sustainably networks and sharing best
practices.

Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement at BNP Paribas, concluded
the event by prioritising the need to act quickly on climate change, whilst
embracing social, financial and technological transformations to create a
better future.

What is the business climate around climate? That was the question debated in New York City as BNP Paribas kicked off its global series of Sustainable Future Forums 2018, with a special event during Climate Week NYC organised with Sparknews.